Tom Wilson: More than one president at a time

Monday

Nov 24, 2008 at 12:01 AMNov 24, 2008 at 2:10 PM

"Tracking Presidential History" -- Several times during the current transition period President-elect Barack Obama has said, “There can be only one president at a time.” But there is evidence that in 1876 that the United States did indeed have two people serving in the nation’s highest office simultaneously.

Tom Wilson

Several times during the current transition period President-elect Barack Obama has said, “There can be only one president at a time.” But there is evidence that in 1876 that the United States did indeed have two people serving in the nation’s highest office simultaneously.

The presidential contest of 1876 between Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden was one of the most highly contested and disputed in history. Tilden won the popular vote by over 250,000 and initially led in the electoral college by a margin of 184-165. The dispute became considerably complicated because of a question over 22 electoral votes involving four southern states.

The stalemate continued for nearly two months until Congress appointed an Electoral Commission with representatives from the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court. To make a very long story short, an informal deal was struck that in essence awarded the presidency to Rutherford Hayes by a one-vote margin in the electoral college.

On March 3, 1876, the night before the inauguration, President-elect Rutherford Hayes, outgoing President Ulysses Grant and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Morrison Waite dined together at the White House. Due to constant rumblings that the Democrats and Samuel Tilden were contemplating an attempted coup and possibly storming the White House, the threesome decided that emergency action was needed. They left their other dinner guests and proceeded to the Red Room where the chief justice gave the oath of office to Hayes. Thus, at least overnight, both Ulysses Grant and Rutherford Hayes served simultaneously as president of the United States.

President Zachary Taylor was to assume the presidency on March 4, 1849, but he refused to be sworn in on a Sunday. It has been assumed that since the presidency of James Polk ended at noon on Sunday, the United States was without a chief executive for one day. Under the Succession Act of 1792, some believe that Missouri Sen. David Rice Atchison, who was president pro tem of the Senate, automatically became chief executive for one day. Although Atchison didn’t take the official oath of office, his tombstone states that he was “President For One Day.”

Three presidents in one year
During both 1841 and 1881 three men served as president of the United States.

In March 1841, William Henry Harrison succeeded Martin Van Buren as president and became the first president to die while in office. He was replaced by Vice President John Tyler, who was nicknamed the “Accidental President.”

In March 1881, James Garfield succeeded Rutherford Hayes as president. Garfield was shot in July and passed away in September. President Garfield was succeeded by Vice President Chester Arthur.

Oath of office
The oath of office of the president of the United States was established in the United States Constitution and is mandatory before beginning the term of office.

The wording is, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

It remains uncertain how many presidents used a Bible or added the words “So help me God” at the end of the oath, as neither is required by law. The oath or affirmation has been typically administered by the chief justice, but sometimes by another state or federal judge. Sarah T. Hughes is the only woman to administer the oath, as a U.S. District Court Judge she swore in Lyndon Johnson on Air Force One following the assassination of President John Kennedy.

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